Social Cohesion, Vitality and Activity: An inclusive urban design approach for open public spaces around Islamabad’s streams

Date

2024-8

Author

Daniyal, Muhammad Hasan

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The planned capital city of Islamabad faces a lack of social cohesion and urban vitality today. The issues that prevent vitality in the city range from the automobile centric scale of the city and the lack of a reliable public transport system to the divisive systems in the city, including zonal separation, segregation of income classes through the formal and informal settlements in the city. The research investigates the lack of social cohesion in Islamabad, focusing on the divisions between residents of the planned city and those living in informal settlements. These divisions are largely influenced by socioeconomic disparities and planning decisions made during the city’s creation.The study focuses on the ecological grid introduced by Constantinos Doxiadis in the planning of Islamabad, which envisioned streams and their adjacent areas as natural enclaves with open public spaces. However, these spaces have become defunct and indistinguishable from the natural forests, failing to serve their intended purpose. These areas around the streams, due to their proximity to both formal and informal settlements, have the potential to foster social interaction between different community groups. Several factors influencing social cohesion in public spaces are identified, including urban vitality, activity generation, access, diversity, space management, ownership, and a sense of safety. Urban vitality and activity generation are particularly significant as they attract users to spaces, creating opportunities for social interaction. The research suggests that programming activities with considerations for social cohesion can create conditions conducive to cohesive interactions. The proposed framework centers on developing an approach for generating a network of public open spaces around the streams to promote social cohesion. This approach aims to enhance social interactions between users from different socioeconomic backgrounds, ultimately working towards a more cohesive urban environment. By addressing the historical planning decisions and leveraging the potential of the ecological grid, the research offers a pathway to improve social cohesion in Islamabad.

Subject Keywords

Social Cohesion, Urban Vitality, Activity, Ecological Grid, Framework of Approach, Public Open Space

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/110926

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis